Fig 1.
Flow chart of sample collection, processing, and RNA-Seq performance.
A total of 63 women had cervical cytobrush samples available for testing. RNA was extracted from all available samples. Out of the 63 women, 24 women had samples which could not be sequenced and were excluded. Reasons for exclusion were DNA contamination (n = 15), degraded RNA (n = 8) and low-quality RNA (n = 1). Created in BioRender. BioRender.com/t06f390.
Table 1.
Characteristics of study participants with and without Schistosoma haematobium infection at baseline.
Fig 2.
Serum CAA trend after praziquantel therapy.
Serum CAA trend over time of women at follow up visits. CAA values of samples from months 4, 6, and 12 which were available for analysis are shown. The red line marks the CAA positivity cut-off value of 30 pg/ml. All women were infected at baseline and received observed praziquantel treatment. Participants with CAA values below the red line were considered to have parasitological clearance of S. haematobium infection, while participants with CAA values equal to or above 30pg/ml were considered infected and received repeat observed praziquantel treatment. Eleven women had samples from their 4-month follow up visit. Of these, 7 had parasitological clearance and 4 were persistently infected. Five women had samples from their 6-month follow up visit. Of these, 3 had parasitological clearance and 2 were persistently infected. All 3 women who had samples available from their 12-month visit had achieved parasitological clearance. Graph created with GraphPad Prism.
Fig 3.
Illustrates the three comparisons performed and the testing used to define each group.
Comparison 1 assesses the gene expression in women with versus without S. haematobium infection at baseline; Comparison 2 assesses the gene expression in women with parasitological clearance post-praziquantel treatment versus women with baseline S. haematobium infection; and Comparison 3 assesses gene expression in women with parasitological clearance post-praziquantel treatment versus women without S. haematobium infection at baseline. Created in BioRender, https://BioRender.com/r34l610.
Fig 4.
Transcript count in cervical cells of the top 9 differentially expressed genes in women with and without S. haematobium infection.
Differences in transcript count in cervical cells for 9 genes in women with and without S. haematobium infection at baseline. The plots display median values (dark horizontal bar) and interquartile ranges (boxes), with error bars representing 1.5 times the interquartile range or the minimum/maximum values. BLK encodes BLK proto-oncogene; COL6A4P2 collagen type VI alpha 4 pseudogene 2; ENSG00000260673 is a novel transcript; ENSG00000275902 is a novel transcript; ENSG00000281195 is a novel transcript; LINC02084 Long Intergenic Non-Protein Coding RNA 2084; SAMD3 sterile alpha motif domain containing 3; TCHH trichohyalin; TCL1A TCL1 family AKT coactivator A.
Fig 5.
Transcript count in cervical cells of the top 9 differentially expressed genes in women with parasitological clearance post-praziquantel treatment versus women with baseline S. haematobium infection.
Differences in transcript count in cervical cells for the top 9 genes found to be differentially expressed in women with parasitological clearance of S. haematobium infection versus women with baseline infection. The plots display median values (dark horizontal bar) and interquartile ranges (boxes), with error bars representing 1.5 times the interquartile range or the minimum/maximum values. CIART encodes circadian associated repressor of transcription; CXCL14 C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 14; ENSG00000280149 is an uncategorized gene; LINC00592 long intergenic non-protein coding RNA 592; LY6K lymphocyte antigen 6 family member K; NR1D1 nuclear receptor subfamily 1 group D member 1; NWD2 NACHT and WD repeat domain containing 2; RPP38-DT RPP38 divergent transcript; TMC1 transmembrane channel like 1.
Fig 6.
Transcript count in cervical cells of the top 9 differentially expressed genes in women women with parasitological clearance post-praziquantel versus women without S. haematobium infection at baseline.
Differences in transcript count in cervical cells for the top 9 representative genes found to be differentially expressed in women with parasitological clearance after praziquantel treatment and without infection at baseline. The plots display median values (dark horizontal bar) and interquartile ranges (boxes), with error bars representing 1.5 times the interquartile range or the minimum/maximum values. BMP2 encodes bone morphogenetic protein 2; CXCL14 C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 14; ENSG00000280149 is an uncategorized gene; IL1RL1 interleukin 1 receptor like 1; KDR kinase insert domain receptor; NR1D1 nuclear receptor subfamily 1 group D member 1; P3H2 prolyl 3-hydroxylase 2; PRDM16-DT PRDM16 divergent transcript; RAPGEF5 Rap guanine nucleotide exchange factor 5.
Fig 7.
Graphical summary of identified biological themes identified by Ingenuity Pathway Analysis.
Biological themes and their relations to each other identified by IPA in women with parasitological clearance of S. haematobium infection post-praziquantel treatment versus women with baseline S. haematobium infection (A) and women with parasitological clearance of infection post-praziquantel treatment versus women without S. haematobium infection at baseline (B).